Near Loughborough test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 3 roundabouts, 18 turns and 7 signalled junctions across 25 navigation steps.
This is an independent 24.3 km practice route near Loughborough test centre, taking roughly 35 min to drive. It is NOT an official DVSA examiner route, the DVSA does not publish those, but it uses the same local roads and junction types an examiner is likely to choose.
Along the way you'll meet Park Road, Beacon Road Roundabout, Forest Road Roundabout, Alan Moss Road Roundabout and Warwick Way Roundabout. Knowing the approach, lane and exit at each one before you arrive is the difference between a planned manoeuvre and a last-second reaction, and last-second reactions are where avoidable faults come from.
On this route you’ll practise multiple roundabouts, dual-carriageway joins, national-speed roads, changing speed limits, residential manoeuvres, busy a-roads and sustained concentration. Driving it a few times before your test builds the muscle memory that frees up attention for observation and decision-making on the day.
The loop is anchored by 20 catalogued landmarks, including shops, churches, pubs and named junctions, so you can navigate it from recognisable features rather than a memorised turn list. Rehearsing it in this way means that on test day the area already feels familiar, and your attention is free for the traffic rather than the map.
Whatever the route, your practical test follows the same national shape: an eyesight check, a couple of vehicle-safety questions, around forty minutes of general driving, one reversing manoeuvre chosen by the examiner, and roughly twenty minutes of independent driving following signs or a sat-nav. Practising on roads like these is how you make each of those elements feel routine rather than new.
Treat this route as practice, not a script. The value is not in repeating one fixed sequence but in getting comfortable with the road types, speed changes and junction patterns of the area around Loughborough test centre, so that whatever order your examiner chooses on the day, none of it is unfamiliar. Drive it a few times, focus on smooth observation and planning, and it becomes one more stretch of road you already know, which is exactly the kind of preparation that turns nerves into confidence.
If you are practising with a supervising driver rather than an instructor, take it steadily: agree the manoeuvre spots in advance, keep to a comfortable pace, and stop to talk through anything that felt rushed. And remember the basics that apply on every road, mirrors before any change of speed or direction, signals in good time, and a following distance that gives you room to react. Those habits travel with you long after the test is passed.
What you’ll actually do on this loop, counted from its turn-by-turn directions.
This route helps you practise:
Road mix
The full 70-step drive on real, named roads (about 24.2 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southwest.
80 m
Turn left onto Gordon Road.
Gordon Road61 m
Turn right onto Station Boulevard/A6004.
Station Boulevard440 m
Turn right onto Nottingham Road/A60.
Nottingham Road314 m
Turn left onto Queen's Road/A60. Continue on A60.
A60454 m
Keep left to stay on A60.
A60570 m
Turn right onto A6/Leicester Road.
A6282 m
Turn right onto A6/Barrow Street.
A693 m
Turn left onto Aumberry Gap.
Aumberry Gap75 m
Turn right onto Pinfold Gate.
Pinfold Gate61 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Pinfold Gate.
Pinfold Gate150 m
Turn left onto Leicester Road/B5350.
Leicester Road105 m
Turn right onto Southfield Road/B5350. Continue on B5350.
B5350514 m
Move left onto Park Road.
Park Road832 m
Turn right to stay on Park Road.
Park Road127 m
Enter Park Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Park Road.
Park Road Roundabout35 m
Exit the roundabout onto Park Road.
Park Road122 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Park Road.
63 m
Exit the roundabout onto Park Road.
Park Road130 m
Exit the roundabout onto Epinal Way/A6004.
Epinal Way251 m
Keep right to stay on Epinal Way/A6004.
Epinal Way182 m
Enter Beacon Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Epinal Way/A6004.
Beacon Road Roundabout31 m
Exit the roundabout onto Epinal Way/A6004.
Epinal Way489 m
Enter Forest Road Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Forest Road.
Forest Road Roundabout12 m
Exit the roundabout onto Forest Road.
Forest Road243 m
Turn left onto Holt Drive.
Holt Drive24 m
Turn right to stay on Holt Drive.
Holt Drive23 m
Turn right onto Forest Road.
Forest Road271 m
Enter Forest Road Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Epinal Way/A6004.
Forest Road Roundabout2 m
Exit the roundabout onto Epinal Way/A6004.
Epinal Way833 m
Enter Ashby Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Epinal Way/A6004.
Ashby Road Roundabout46 m
Exit the roundabout onto Epinal Way/A6004.
Epinal Way441 m
Enter Alan Moss Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Epinal Way.
Alan Moss Road Roundabout49 m
Exit the roundabout onto Epinal Way.
Epinal Way76 m
Keep straight to stay on Epinal Way.
Epinal Way505 m
Enter Warwick Way Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Epinal Way.
Warwick Way Roundabout89 m
Exit the roundabout onto Epinal Way.
Epinal Way366 m
Turn left onto Knightthorpe Road.
Knightthorpe Road253 m
Turn left onto Milton Street.
Milton Street389 m
Turn right onto Warwick Way.
Warwick Way311 m
Enter Bishop Meadow Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A6/Derby Road.
Bishop Meadow Roundabout103 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Derby Road.
A6870 m
Turn left onto Belton Road/A6004.
Belton Road13 m
Keep right to stay on Belton Road/A6004.
Belton Road207 m
Keep left to stay on Belton Road/A6004.
Belton Road901 m
Turn left onto Meadow Lane/A6004.
Meadow Lane75 m
Turn right onto Burder Street.
Burder Street233 m
Turn right onto Glebe Street.
Glebe Street109 m
Turn right onto Cartwright Street.
Cartwright Street164 m
Turn left onto Meadow Lane.
Meadow Lane268 m
Turn left onto Clarence Street/B589.
Clarence Street241 m
Turn left onto Nottingham Road/A60.
Nottingham Road560 m
Move right to stay on Nottingham Road/A60.
Nottingham Road59 m
Keep left to stay on Nottingham Road/A60.
Nottingham Road1.2 km
Keep left to take Loughborough Road/A60.
Loughborough Road103 m
Keep left to stay on Loughborough Road/A60.
Loughborough Road2.1 km
Turn right onto Prestwold Lane.
Prestwold Lane106 m
Keep left to stay on Prestwold Lane.
Prestwold Lane1.2 km
Turn right onto Barrow Road/B676.
Barrow Road124 m
Keep right to stay on Barrow Road/B676.
Barrow Road2.1 km
Move left onto Nottingham Road/A60.
Nottingham Road992 m
Move left to stay on Nottingham Road/A60.
Nottingham Road537 m
Turn right onto Clarence Street/B589.
Clarence Street241 m
Turn right onto Meadow Lane.
Meadow Lane528 m
Turn right onto Station Boulevard.
Station Boulevard561 m
Turn right onto Nottingham Road/A60.
Nottingham Road654 m
Turn left onto Sparrow Hill.
Sparrow Hill250 m
Make a right U-turn onto Pinfold Gate.
Pinfold Gate206 m
Keep right to take Sparrow Hill.
Sparrow Hill27 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Loughborough · Route 2 loop. Always drive to the road and conditions you see, not the list — signs, signals and other traffic take priority.
These are the real named features along the loop, straight from our route catalogue. Use them to recognise where you are and to anticipate the hazard each one brings, not to memorise a fixed order.
Decide your lane and exit on the approach to each of these, get set up early.
Expect busier traffic, pick-ups and pedestrians around these.
Useful navigation anchors on the loop.
Easy landmarks to navigate the loop by.
Frequent stop-start traffic and pedestrians, keep your speed down.
Multiple roundabouts
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Beacon Road Roundabout, Forest Road Roundabout, Alan Moss Road Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 2.0 km of this loop is dual carriageway. Build your speed on the slip road, take an effective rearward observation, and merge without forcing other traffic to brake.
Changing speed limits
Limits change across this route (30, 40, 50, 60 mph). Watch for repeater signs and adjust early, examiners mark you down for carrying the wrong speed into a new limit.
Residential streets
Narrow residential roads mean parked cars, pedestrians and reduced visibility. Cover the brake, keep your speed down and be ready to give way.
Navigate by these 20 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
Jackson Coachworks
Start near Jackson Coachworks.
Loughborough Mosque and Islamic Cultural Association
Continue to Loughborough Mosque and Islamic Cultural Association.
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir
Continue to BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir.
Phantom
Continue to Phantom.
Blacksmiths
Continue to Blacksmiths.
Trinity Methodist Church
Continue to Trinity Methodist Church.
Park Road
Continue to Park Road, taking the junction with good observation.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Continue to Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
Beacon Road Roundabout
Continue to Beacon Road Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Forest Road Roundabout
Continue to Forest Road Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Sir David Wallace
Continue to Sir David Wallace.
Alan Moss Road Roundabout
Continue to Alan Moss Road Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Warwick Way Roundabout
Continue to Warwick Way Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Ring O'Bells
Continue to Ring O'Bells.
GoLocal
Continue to GoLocal.
Booze Zone
Continue to Booze Zone.
Boat Inn
Continue to Boat Inn.
Loughborough
Continue to Loughborough.
Tap and Mallet
Continue to Tap and Mallet.
Fat Sam's
Finish back near Fat Sam's, completing the loop.
8 roundabouts · 12 turns · 5 sets of lights
9 roundabouts · 21 turns · 7 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 21 turns · 4 sets of lights
9 roundabouts · 10 turns · 6 sets of lights
This route is 24.3 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Loughborough test centre, not an official DVSA route.